From Our Vaults 72 Years Ago: September 1, 1948

Southern Cross editor resigns

Fr Owen McCann has resigned as editor of The Southern Cross after leading the newspaper for seven years. He will now take over the position of administrator of Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral.
The alumnus of St Joseph’s Marist College and bachelor of commerce graduate became editor in 1941, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. He soon found the technical difficulties of producing a national weekly during war arduous. Yet, during his editorship, the circulation of The Southern Cross increased.
Fr McCann will be succeeded by Fr Louis Stubbs of Maitland, Cape Town.

New church in Jo’burg blessed

The first portion of the church of Bl Martin de Porres in Craighall Park, Johannesburg, consisting of the sanctuary, sacristy and side chapel, has been blessed by Bishop William Whelan.

Russian Orthodox slam the pope

The Russian Orthodox Church, led by pro-Soviet Patriarch Alexi, has at its synod adopted a resolution declaring the papacy as “the centre of international fascism”. However, the masses of the Catholic faithful “are not responsible for the crimes of the Vatican”.

Editorial: Defend all human rights

In his editorial, Fr McCann writes that Christians “must oppose totalitarianism under its communist as well as its Nazi form. They must defend human rights because those rights have been given to human beings by God himself. And those rights are nothing else but man’s obligations towards God.”